I acquired this 3 cyl diesel tractor with the info the clutch was stuck. No problem so I thought. What I can see is when I started the tractor it doesn't move while in gear. As a matter of fact if I press the clutch (engine running) I can hear the gear train turning as it goes into gear but when I let off the clutch.. nothing. I've messed with the clutch adjustment and if I tighten it up enough it bogs the motor down slightly when pressed hard but don't feel/hear anything when released. The PTO is working though I haven't put a load on it. Can't tell if it stops while pressing clutch due to guard blocking my view. Its a diesel so I don't hear any noise but the engine. I'm stumped. I wouldn't think the gears would (lightly) grind while putting in gear if something was broken with the pressure plate or clutch. Thought maybe it would be a coupler on the drive shaft but according to the parts list I don't see one.
Its a single stage clutch from what I can tell and not a hydrostatic. Am I thinking to hard on this? I really don't want to split the tractor but I'm guessing that's where I'm heading. Does anyone have any ideas before I start my exploratory split? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Btw, I'm not a mechanic just someone who reads a lot of these threads. lol One more question, is it possible for a clutch to be stuck engaged?
First of all, congratulations on this tractor. These simple 3 cylinder diesels with manual transmissions manufactured in that era were excellently built to last a lifetime. Remarkable machines. It probably doesn't have much wrong with it.
Basically I think you are saying that you can shift through the gears, but when you engage the clutch the tractor doesn't move, right? And the same may or may not apply to the PTO shaft.
Does the foot clutch feel like it has normal full movement and a normal spring feel when you depress it? Note: it may have a different feel half way down if it is a two stage clutch common to the better live PTO type tractors.
This is a simple tractor. My guess is that you will be able to find the problem pretty easily. Yes, it may require splitting the tractor, but lets do some experiments first. If you do have to split it, I think you will find that this style of straightforward gear transmission with a simple automotive old style clutch is just about the perfect first project. Unlike hydrostatics or powershi, there aren't any difficult fits, careful dimensions, or large number of parts.
It sounds like you have a a parts manual. You will find the exploded diagrams a great help. A service manual is nice
to have, but its the parts manual - and the exploded illustrations in particular - that you will turn to.
If it were mine, I'd hold off on splitting the tractor until you do a few more simple tests......and let the TBN group work through those results here.
It sounds like you understand how manual clutchs should work. The simplest type is basically two steel plates - one on the engine side and the other on the transmission side - which use the pressure of a large spring to to trap a friction plate in between them. The IH Case 245 was advertised to have a "live" PTO which generally means it has a 2-stage clutch. If they got their advertising right (more about that below) then their simple clutch may have a few more parts. In the most common design for a live PTO, these extra parts allow the foot clutch pedal to be pushed down half way to disengage the drive to the transmission and then all the way down disengages the PTO shaft. There are several ways to do this, but at worst this means the clutch sandwich just has an extra friction disk and possibly an extra spring-pressure plate.
Yes, it is not only possible but quite common for a clutch to be stuck engaged. This usually happens when the tractor sits for a long time. Rust from condensation forms on the steel plates and causes the friction disk to adhere to the steel clutch plates. When this happens, the foot pedal may feel "almost normal" but the clutch cannot be disengaged. Usually it won't start when it is like this, and if you do get it started it will immediately drive away. Remedy is to split the tractor, and clean up the clutch plates.
Sometimes a person may try to free up a rusted & struck clutch by pushing on a stationary object like a tree - while jumping up and down on the clutch. And sometimes that works. But it can also peel away portions of the friction disk which will then be trapped within the clutch housing and prevent the clutch from fully disengaging while not providing enough friction to allow the engine to feed full power to the transmission. i.e. a "slipping" clutch.
Chances are your is one of these rusted clutch situations.
You may learn something useful by loading the PTO with the engine in neutral and see if it will feed full power to the PTO. Just looking at it won't help because there is always enough friction to rotate the shaft without a load.
DO NOT try to grap that PTO SHAFT with anything just to see if it has power!! Especially not with gloves on. People lose fingers and thumbs that way.
Keep in mind that there were several different ways to clutch the PTO and transmission, and although yours should be a "live" 2 stage type of foot clutched PTO, the Japanese manufacturer literature of the time did not always accurately distinguish between transmission driven, live, and independent PTOs with their variations. The illustractions may help, also it helps to know that a 2 stage clutch with the PTO engaged makes a different gearbox sound when it is all the way depressed vs halfway depressed. This is because it is spinning different gear sets. Selecting different PTO speeds will also change the PTO gear sound a lot if it is working - and you can do that now. But still you need a load on the PTO to be sure.
I'm guessing that you will end up splitting the tractor and cleaning up that clutch. Usually that means a new pressure plate(s) and diaphram spring plate plus doing whatever is necessary to make the flywheel's mating surfaces smooth again. If you only clean the rust off and there are corrosion pits remaining then the pits will eat up the new friction disk. Machining the flywheel and pressure plate to be flat and smooth at an automotive machine shop is the way to go.
Hoping more folks chime in,
rScotty
